Chapter 6

CHAPTER 6

Regan

I paced restlessly in the small quarters I was brought to. I’d been in the room for just over a day and was already close to losing my mind. I was meant to spend my days in the training room, teaching other warriors to fight, not cooped up in a small, stuffy room without even a window to look out of.

My gut burned with anger, and I took a deep breath and a swallow of juice. I reminded myself that if it were not for the western Draax, I would have died on Earth. They had saved my life, and acting like a spoiled child was not befitting of the head of the king’s guard.

Not to mention if you anger them, the likelihood of them telling Eastolf where you were increases. What do you think he will do to you if he finds out you were in a state protected by the western province?

I wanted to pretend he wouldn’t care, but even I wasn’t that delusional. While Eastolf might not care if his people broke the rules, those in his employment were expected to toe the line unless he demanded differently.

My lunch sat unpleasantly in the pit of my stomach. With each day, my loyalty to Eastolf grew more challenging to hold onto, but what choice did I have? I was the head of the king’s guard and could not show weakness in mind or body. Eastolf’s king’s guard was already chaotic enough.

If they thought I no longer believed our king was worthy to rule, they would not hesitate to turn against me. They had no idea who Eastolf really was and would give their lives to defend him because I had drilled into them their loyalty to a man who no longer deserved it.

There was a light knock on my door, and, surprised, I shouted, “Come in.”

The door opened, and I stared at the little female who entered my quarters. I had done many things for Eastolf that curled my guts and filled me with shame, but none so much as what I had done to this woman.

She was tall, with lush curves, dark hair, and pretty blue eyes. She was followed closely by a Draax with matching blue eyes and a body nearly as big and muscular as mine. He kept his hand on his sword handle as the woman smiled at me.

“Hello, Regan.”

“Hello, small one,” I said. “You are looking well.”

I looked her up and down, and the Draax’s tail immediately wrapped around the woman’s waist. He tugged her back against him, and she glanced up at him. “Krey, it’s fine.”

“Keep looking at her that way, king’s guard, and you will find your head on a spike,” Krey growled.

I grinned as the woman gave him a horrified look. “Krey, you promised to behave.”

“I am behaving, Madison,” he said.

“Threatening to kill him for looking at me is not behaving,” she said.

I couldn’t help my smile, even though I knew it would only anger Krey further. Madison was not only beautiful but also intelligent, courageous, and kind. Bedding her, making her my mate, would not have been far from my mind if she had not already been mated to Krey. But while I had become a person I often didn’t recognize, I was not someone who would steal another’s mate.

Krey released his mate but left his hand on his sword handle as he stared steadily at me. Madison rested her hand on his chest, rubbing lightly, and he visibly relaxed. Jealousy twinged in my stomach. What I would not give to have a mate provide such comfort. But I had removed myself from the breeding program two years ago. I was not a worthy mate for a little female.

“How are you feeling?” Madison asked.

“Fine. The juice has healed me,” I said.

“Good.” Her smile was genuine as she gestured to the small table in the eating area. “Do you mind if we sit and chat?”

I shook my head and followed them to the table, masking my smile when Krey made certain to sit between us. He placed a proprietary hand on Madison’s thigh as she smiled at me again.

Before she could say anything, I said, “Are you here to find out if Eastolf sent me as a spy as he sent you?”

“Yes,” she said.

I liked her straightforwardness. “The king asks a female to do his questioning. Is he afraid to speak with me?”

Krey growled, his scowl deepening, but Madison just shook her head. “As the king’s advisor, I volunteered to speak with you on his behalf.”

“Why?” I asked.

“Why were you in California when you know our province protects that state?” she countered.

“I enjoy the warm weather,” I said, “and how few clothes the little females wear.”

Her laughter made me grin. “Right. How do you know the woman brought here with you?”

“I do not,” I said. “A human male was harming her, and I stopped to help. Nothing more.”

Madison stared silently at me, and I shrugged. “Ask her. She will tell you the same.”

“Why were you so kind to me that day on the Korcean ship?” Madison asked abruptly.

Shame washed over me at the part I’d played in her kidnapping, and I folded my arms over my chest, staring over Madison’s shoulder.

“Why, Regan?” she asked.

When I remained silent, Krey said, “My mate asks you a question, and you will answer it.”

“And if I do not?” I arched an eyebrow at him.

Krey scowled, but before he could reply, Madison said, “I think it’s because you didn’t want to do what your king demanded.”

“I am loyal to my king,” I growled.

“I know,” Madison said. “But being loyal doesn’t mean you agree with what he asks of you.”

“You know nothing of my king.”

“I know he’s someone who desires power above everything else,” Madison said. “I know he uses those around him like pawns to take what doesn’t belong to him.”

To my dismay, I couldn’t hide my twitching, and I glanced at her before looking away again.

She leaned forward, her voice soft, and said, “My king and my mate believe you are here because Eastolf demands it. They believe you can’t be trusted.”

Her hand touched my forearm, and I dragged my gaze to hers. She stared intently at me. “But I don’t believe that. I saw the real you on that Korcean ship. A Draax whose loyalty to his corrupt king grows thinner by the day. A Draax who hates what Eastolf makes him do.”

I could hear the dry click of my throat as Madison stared at me for another long moment. She released my arm and stood, smiling at Krey when he stood and wrapped his tail around her waist. “I will speak with our king about allowing you to leave your quarters, Regan.”

I stood, my tail lashing back and forth despite my efforts to keep it under control and my voice hoarse with surprise when I said, “Why would you do that?”

“You showed me kindness, and I want to repay it,” she said.

She and Krey left my quarters and I sank back into the chair, my tail gone still with shock.

* * *

Lomax

I poked at the food on my plate. It was a mixture of something that looked like blue rice with chunks of meat. A small bowl of yellow fruit cut into pieces sat beside the plate, along with a bottle of gallberry juice.

A Draax had delivered the tray of food to me a few minutes ago, and while he’d been polite, he dropped off the tray and quickly left before I could ask him what the food was. I’d never been an adventurous eater, and trying Draax food wasn’t at the top of my bucket list or anything.

But I would be here for a month and needed to be better about trying new foods. Sigan gave me food called faven for breakfast in the infirmary this morning, and it was pretty good. It reminded me of oatmeal, and the sweet blue syrup I poured over it made it even better.

“Just try it,” I said to myself. “You have a brand new start at life, remember? Now’s the time to be brave.”

There was a knock on my door, and secretly happy for the delay, I jumped up from the table and hurried over to open it. A dark-haired woman stood in the hallway. She wore a navy blue suit that hugged her curves and carried a tablet.

“Hi, Lomax. I’m Madison. May I come in?”

“Um, sure,” I said.

She stepped inside and closed the door behind her. When she saw the food at the table, she said, “Oh shoot, I interrupted your lunch. I can come back.”

“No, no, that’s okay. I would love some company while I eat,” I said.

Madison followed me to the table, sitting down and watching as I picked up my fork. I poked at the food again and said, “I’m not really sure what this is.”

“It’s a dish called wennacado,” Madison said. “The blue rice stuff is a grain called orechoke, and the meat is grundleswat. Grundleswat looks a lot like deer, and the meat tastes similar. The fruit is warracot, and it tastes like watermelon. Both warracot and wennacado are very popular with the Draax.”

She gave me an encouraging look. “Try it. I’m pretty sure you’ll find it delicious.”

I ate a forkful of the wennacado, my eyes widening. “Oh, it’s good.”

“Right?” she said. “Likely, weirdly good. I’m not sure what seasonings Jarka puts in it, but it’s friggin’ delicious.”

“Jarka?” I asked.

“He’s the head chef here at the castle,” Madison said.

“I can’t believe I’m in a castle,” I said. “A castle with a giant indoor garden.”

Madison laughed. “Have you walked through the garden yet?”

“No, not yet. I saw it briefly when Sigan brought me here from the infirmary.”

Madison glanced around the room. “Sorry that it’s one of the smaller quarters, but most of the bigger ones have already been claimed.”

“No complaints from me - this room is great,” I said as I ate more food. “It’s no smaller than my apartment back home, and the neighbourhood is a lot better.”

She didn’t laugh at my joke. Instead, she gave me a somber look. “I’m sorry your life was so difficult on Earth. Sigan told me you had aortic valve disease and that you were close to dying.”

“Thank you,” I said. I was a little unnerved both by how genuinely empathetic she sounded and the reminder that Sigan, a stranger, had gone above and beyond to save my life. My friends had abandoned me as I grew more and more sick, and once I’d lost my middle status, that was it. I never heard from them again. To have strangers care more for me than my friends was a tough pill to swallow.

“So, are you in the breeding program and mated to a Draax here?” I studied her suit and the tablet.

“I am mated to a Draax. His name is Krey, and he’s a member of the king’s guard,” Madison said, “but I’m not in the breeding program.”

“You randomly met him on Earth, I guess?” I asked. “I think that’s more and more common now. There have been a few women at the bar that I hook… uh, that I hang out at sometimes, who have met a Draax, and it’s become more than just a night of fun for them.”

Madison gave me a kind look. “Sigan told me what you were forced to do to survive, Lomax.”

I stirred the food on my plate, my cheeks red. “If I were breeding compatible, I wouldn’t have broken the law, I swear.”

A new thought struck me, and I stared at Madison. Fear made me squeeze my fork until my knuckles turned white. “Wait, are you turning me into the Coalition because I fucked the Draax for juice?”

If they did, I was dead. I would be imprisoned for at least ten years in a prison that housed both men and women. Very few women survived more than a few days.

“Oh fuck no,” Madison said, then grimaced. “Sorry about the language, but any crime related to gallberry juice means you’re put in the mixed gender prisons, and that’s a death sentence for a woman.”

She leaned back in her chair. “I promise you, Lomax. No one here will ever tell the Earth authorities what you did to survive, all right?”

Relief made me a little shaky. “Thank you. I appreciate that.”

“Of course,” she said briskly. “So, if you’re good with chatting while you eat, I’d like to give you some information about the castle and how it works.”

I nodded and scooped some more wennacado onto my fork. “I’m ready. Hit me with the palace gossip.”